In the summertime cooking a quick light delicious meal is what a lot of folks desire. Short preparation, good flavor, and something different are key ingredients for warm weather dining. Usually over the course of the year, I will bake or fry my fish, but after having caught plenty over the past season it is time for something new. My choice is to grill it. Grilled fish is great, but a fresh garden fish salad puts it over the top.

This time of year you can get all types of farmer market vegetables with just the right taste. Lettuce heads are full and large, tomatoes are vine ripened, and you can find big sweet onions. I use this as the basis of my fresh salad, but first I heat up my coals to grill up my favorite fish of the day. You can choose whatever fish you like, from fresh water such as crappie, or ocean fish such as red snapper.

Today I am grilling a salmon. First, I rinse my fish off and place on a large piece of foil. I pour olive oil over my 1lb.fish and rub it in. Next, I sprinkle my seasoning salt and paprika on both sides of the salmon. I wrap the foil securely around the fish leaving space enough for the fish to expand. While I wait a few minutes more for my coals to be just right I grab a couple of eggs and place them in a pan of water to boil. Next, I grab a few of slices of bacon to fry in the skillet on a low heat. Now I also get a couple of slices of bread, cut off the crust edges and slice into cube size. I take the cube size bread and put in a small bowl, sprinkle with olive oil and Mrs. Dash and pop into the microwave to make my own croutons.

By now my bacon is ready to turn and my grill is hot enough to put my salmon on. The salmon should take about 5 to 10 minutes on both sides depending on your grill. Now I can check my bacon and eggs to see if they are ready after which I can turn my salmon unto the other side. Timing and flow is everything, and by now every thing should be ready to put together. I remove my bacon and place on paper towel to absorb the grease and I let my eggs cool in cold water.

My salmon is done and smelling good enough to eat as is right now, but I’m going to wait. I take all my rinsed vegetables (tomatoes, lettuce, and some onion) and chop them down to be place in a large bowl. I add three different already shredded cheeses, crumbled bacon, my homemade croutons and small chopped eggs on top of the vegetables. Next, I sprinkle a bit of Mrs. Dash garden blend seasoning and pour in my salad dressing. I use either a light vinaigrette or a low fat creamy ranch dressing. I lightly mix all this together and I top it off with chunks of my grilled salmon. Talk about some great summertime eating. Not only is it is quick to prepare, its also healthy and good.